We're not here for your inspiration

I don't know Scott Hamilton personally, but that guy is really starting to burn my crumpets.

You've heard of him, I'm sure. He's the one who said "The only disability in life is a bad attitude." You know, that quote that's plastered all over pictures of disabled people doing completely normal things and shared far and wide on social media.

Hamilton is a figure skater who has had cancer more than once and has survived after lots of treatment. Good for him. Although how it qualifies him to make such a bold sweeping statement about disability, I can't quite grasp. I'll get to that in a moment. Firstly, I want to address the images that his slogan so often accompanies.

Those images constitute what's called inspiration porn.

Inspiration porn is an image of a person with a disability, often a kid, doing something completely ordinary - like playing, or talking, or running, or drawing a picture, or hitting a tennis ball - carrying a caption like "your excuse is invalid" or "before you quit, try". Increasingly, they feature the Hamilton quote.

There's the one pictured here. It's of a little girl running on a set of prosthetic legs alongside Oscar Pistorius, also using similar prostheses. Those legs, for the record, cost upwards of $20,000 and are completely out of reach for most people with disabilities. The Hamilton quote is plastered across the photo.

And there's another one of a little boy running on those same model legs with the caption, "Your excuse is invalid". Yes, you can take a moment here to ponder the use of the word "invalid" in a disability context. Ahem.

Then there's the one with the little girl with no hands drawing a picture holding the pencil in her mouth with the caption, "Before you quit. Try."

I'd go on, but I might expunge the contents of my stomach.

Let me be clear about the intent of this inspiration porn; it's there so that non-disabled people can put their worries into perspective. So they can go, "Oh well if that kid who doesn't have any legs can smile while he's having an awesome time, I should never, EVER feel bad about my life". It's there so that non-disabled people can look at us and think "well, it could be worse... I could be that person".

In this way, these modified images exceptionalise and objectify those of us they claim to represent. It's no coincidence that these genuinely adorable disabled kids in these images are never named: it doesn't matter what their names are, they're just there as objects of inspiration.

But using these images as feel-good tools, as "inspiration", is based on an assumption that the people in them have terrible lives, and that it takes some extra kind of pluck or courage to live them.

For many of us, that is just not true.

When I was 15, a member of my local community approached my parents and told them she wanted to nominate me for some kind of community achievement award. My parents said, "Thanks, but there's one glaring problem with that... she hasn't actually achieved anything out of the ordinary."

They were right. I went to school, I got good marks, I had a very low key after-school job, and I spent a lot of time watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek. I wasn't feeding orphaned Chlamydia-infected baby koalas before school, or setting up a soup kitchen in the main street, or reading newspapers to the elderly at the local hospital. I was doing exactly the same things as my non-disabled friends. When my parents explained all this to the well-meaning nominator, they said "yes, but she's just such an inspiration".

And there's the rub. My everyday life in which I do exactly the same things as everyone else should not inspire people, and yet I am constantly congratulated by strangers for simply existing. It happened twice last week.

I was on a train with my earphones shoved in my ears completely ignoring my fellow commuters (as is my want early in the morning) while reading inane things on twitter. A woman on her way to getting off at her stop patted me on the arm and said "I see you on the train every morning and I just wanted to say it's great. You're an inspiration to me."

Should I have said "you too"? Because we were doing exactly the same thing; catching public transport to our respective places of employment. I was just doing it sitting down. Should I have pointed out that, in many ways, that requires less effort, not more?

That's the thing about those kids in the inspiration porn pictures too - they're not doing anything their peers don't do. We all learn how to use the bodies we're born with, or learn to use them in an adjusted state, whether those bodies are considered disabled or not. So that image of the kid drawing a picture with the pencil held in her mouth instead of her hand? That's just the best way for her, in her body, to do it. For her, it's normal.

I can't help but wonder whether the source of this strange assumption that living our lives takes some particular kind of courage is the news media, an incredibly powerful tool in shaping the way we think about disability. Most journalists seem utterly incapable of writing or talking about a person with a disability without using phrases like "overcoming disability", "brave", "suffers from", "defying the odds", "wheelchair bound" or, my personal favourite, "inspirational".

If we even begin to question the way we're labelled, we slide immediately to the other end of the scale and become "bitter" and "ungrateful". We fail to be what people expect.

Which brings us back to Scott Hamilton and his mantra. The statement "the only disability in life is a bad attitude" puts the responsibility for our oppression squarely at the feet, prosthetic or otherwise, of people with disabilities. It's victim blaming. It says that we have complete control of the way disability impacts our lives. To that, I have one thing to say. Get stuffed.

By far the most disabling thing in my life is the physical environment. It dictates what I can and can't do every day. But if Hamilton is to be believed, I should just be able to smile at an inaccessible entrance to a building long enough and it will magically turn into a ramp. I can make accessible toilets appear where none existed before, simply by radiating a positive attitude. I can simply turn that frown upside down in the face of a flight of stairs with no lift in sight. Problem solved, right?

I'm a natural optimist, but none of that has ever worked for me.

Inspiration porn shames people with disabilities. It says that if we fail to be happy, to smile and to live lives that make those around us feel good, it's because we're not trying hard enough. Our attitude is just not positive enough. It's our fault. Not to mention what it means for people whose disabilities are not visible, like people with chronic or mental illness, who often battle the assumption that it's all about attitude. And we're not allowed to be angry and upset, because then we'd be "bad" disabled people. We wouldn't be doing our very best to "overcome" our disabilities.

I suppose it doesn't matter what inspiration porn says to us as people with disabilities. It's not actually about us. Disability is complex. You can't sum it up in a cute picture with a heart-warming quote. So next time you're tempted to share that picture of an adorable kid with a disability to make your facebook friends feel good, just take a second to consider why you're really clicking that button.

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A Compassionate Person :

13 May 2014 7:52:51am

RE:- We're not here for your inspiration by Stella Young. 2 Jul 2012

There are many hurting humans in this world, disabled from being 'normal' in numerous ways - emotionally, mentally and physically. I myself at 51 am still healing from abuse that caused abnormal development that still causes me challenges. Actually it is only recently that anything effective has been deliberately applied in my life. I was hurt by this abuse but never saw that it's effects hindered me. Things come out in the wash, and after experiencing added abuse as a woman I hit a wall.

To everyone's surprise - I have a problem! I knew all along but was so busy trying to love and help everyone else that I didn't address my real self. I thought I was fine! My 'disability' was covered and as it refuses to be covered anymore, people treat me as though I want to have it and refuse to do better. I am shunned for revealing weakness.

Don't get me wrong, I am quite alright; it's just that I don't fit into many peoples' expectations. I am independent but with my 'issues' I need assistance, at best in the form of a village. BUT now that I ask for assistance, the people want me to summon my own strength and do it on my own; as I've done all along. So it all hurts a bit more but I know I'm on my own as usual and just need to have faith and keep on keeping on.

A funny thing - It is well known that, along with many other,s I am a struggling single mother in an expensive country.I meet some beautiful people in my walk. I love people and am in a healing profession. I made friends with a nice man who happened to have paraplegia. It didn't matter to me, I was just enamoured with his sweet personality. We became friends and not long after...

Here's the funny thing - he offered for me and my children to live with him to save money and for me to be a caring helping hand in the kitchen. I was flabbergasted that he was putting a lot of effort in helping me and my life, my family's lives. But I accepted.

I'm tearing up now because he has left earth...

He was truly an inspiration to me and many others. He was normal, he just couldn't walk and do some other physical things. But he was a regular human with regular feelings and attitudes. Most times he just moved through his struggles and sometimes he was feeling irritable, or low or needing more assistance. He expressed that inspiring stuff that thrills people without that disability and he expressed sorrow that he couldn't do certain things - to me a balance. Yet always inspiring.

I think that all humans, even animals like our pets, need inspiration. We find it in different ways. People give praise for all sorts of things;praise to our children; staff; athletes; jobs well done etc you get the point. We give praise when people do well and have successes.

I think the truth is that many people give praise for things they couldn't see themselves doing, or

Special needs mom :

09 Jan 2013 6:32:58am

I might not be disabled but I have two sons that are and I am their caregiver. They are both non verbal, wheelchair bound, and have had so many surgeries that I've pretty much lost count. Even with everything they have gone though in life, they always manage to have a smile on their face. To me and to many people they are an inspiration. Although you are very entiltled to your opinion, I understand why many might not agree with you. Some of these quotes can be very uplifting and do inspire others to keep going even in their darkest days.

giulia :

06 Jan 2013 9:24:45am

I think this article is making two unrelated arguments. I agree that the slogan "the only disability is a poor attitude" is entirely offensive. But, I'm not sure it's so terrible and demeaning for able-bodied people to find a disabled person inspiring. I walk with braces and crutches, often painfully, and it IS more difficult for me to get to (and perform) my daily job than it is for most people -- a LOT more difficult. I find it hard to be offended if someone expresses admiration for my efforts.

Here's another example: Years ago, when I was in a particularly despairing mood about my disability, I saw Christopher Reeve appear on stage for the first time after his accident, on TV, smiling broadly. Did I demean him by feeling inspired by his smile, because it helped me to think that if he could smile like that, without being able to move most of his body, then maybe I would be able to find moments of happiness too? Am I a bad person for reacting that way?

Doug C. :

21 Dec 2012 3:55:16am

So you're getting down on a disabled person for trying to inspire people? That's pretty sad. You must be one of those perpetually gloomy people whose only satisfaction in life is dumping on the positive aspects of other people's lives.

velvetcrayon :

22 Dec 2012 6:34:02am

that's what you got from this article? i use a wheelchair. i am a cripple. today i took a crap, as i'm sure you did as well, is my crap some how more inspiring than yours? "We all learn how to use the bodies we're born with, or learn to use them in an adjusted state."

Ian :

20 Dec 2012 9:00:32am

I do like the article and the points that it lays out; all valid and well said, but I did get a little confused when the author went to make the closing argument. Maybe I just read it wrong or something, so maybe someone could help me understand what she was trying to get across at the end.

From what I understand, the article says in summary that, "My everyday life in which I do exactly the same things as everyone else should not inspire people, and yet I am constantly congratulated by strangers for simply existing." (P15 lines 1&2) But at the end of the article, the author says "The statement "the only disability in life is a bad attitude" puts the responsibility for our oppression squarely at the feet, prosthetic or otherwise, of people with disabilities. It's victim blaming. It says that we have complete control of the way disability impacts our lives. To that, I have one thing to say. Get stuffed." (P 20 lines 1-4) And the definition of the word 'disabled' to me (this could be my issue, that maybe I might be using a different definition of 'disabled' than the author), is simply "anything that puts one at a disadvantage in theory". Many times a disability is defined by oneself and not so to another, so again, in theory or theoretically a disadvantage.

Now, the part that confuses me is that the author originally said that people with disabilities living normal lives shouldn't be categorized as 'brave', 'inspirational', etc., and should be just considered as normal as anyone else. As she says with the 'normal' being defined differently for each person, such as the little girl drawing with her mouth being normal for her as drawing with our hands is to us, then wouldn't the quote from Scott Hamilton still hold true? If people with a disability can just as easily lead normal lives as anyone else, and have the right to feel and act as freely as anyone else without being criticized as "'bad' disabled people", then doesn't that mean that what we choose to be or how we choose to see the world mean that it is the only disability that matters (in this context)?

Again, got confused by the last couple of paragraphs, but this is how this article reads out to me. Am I missing a key part somewhere?

Taxonomy :

13 Jan 2013 8:02:49am

The problem here is with your definition of disability. A disability is actually a set of needs or abilities which differs from other people's such that you're at a disadvantage in the society you live in. (E.g., needing a wheelchair is a disadvantage because there are so many places with stairs at all the entrances.) It is an objective thing, not subjective at all.

PWDs (people with disabilities) are oppressed by things like: doorways too small to fit through, people who accuse non-paralyzed wheelchair users of faking because they can walk a few steps (even if it's too painful to do for long distances), and a lack of captioning.

It can be inspirational for a PWD to do something, if the something is very difficult. For instance, facing an access barrier could be inspirational, if you get past it.

On the other hand, some disabled people do boring things some of the time. They draw pictures, go for walks, or do other things they find fun. Inspiration Porn is what happens when you take a picture of a PWD doing one of these things and give it a caption which implies that if a disabled person could do this, then you, as a nondisabled person, should be able to do so much more. It's a problem because it implies that, just because the person is disabled, it's amazing if this person can even draw, or eat chips, or ride a train. For that to be amazing requires extremely low expectations of disabled people.

Additionally, Inspiration Porn is made for a solely nondisabled audience. "Look at what this disabled person can do. Since you don't have this disadvantage, imagine how much more you should be able to do!" What about the disabled people who see this Inspiration Porn? It's a very subtle thing, but people are just... assumed abled. For instance (and this is so common that I don't even blame you for it), in a conversation about disability, one that disabled people are even more likely than average to be participating in, you compare how normal the girl's way of drawing is for her to how normal "drawing with our hands is to us." Us who? You and me? Okay, you happened to get a disabled person whose hands work, but what was to stop the person who answered this comment from being a quadriplegic mouth artist? It's not that odd; I can think of one who makes a living that way. (If you want to be inspired by someone enterprising making a living, and by his clever marketing and the way he uses his disability to draw in customers, then that would be different. Those are things he's achieved that took some modicum of skill. Merely trying, merely living, is not usually inspiring.)

Wendy :

07 Nov 2012 4:30:49pm

Absolutely brilliant, and I do hope you encourage people to think critically about this.

As a person with a disability, I've frequently come across that kind of "oh, WOW, you're AMAZING" or "you're an inspiration" attitude... and oh how I'd love to slap them!! Yes it does make me feel different, yes it does single me out, yes it does imply that people originally thought i had absolutely NO IQ and physical capacity, it says everything about THEIR low expectations of me !

However, I also think that this media campaigning does lend perspective to the general population in it's own way.

People in the general community are rarely going to venture onto these sites such as ABC ramp up, unless they have a specific reason, people are rarely going to look up journal articles of people with disabilities unless they absolutely have to.... people aren't going to bother reading newsletter articles and annual report publications from organisations they donated to, unless they have an interest in it.

My point is, that these snapshot photos and slogans, do have the capacity to reach a wider audience, and appeal to a greater number of people. And to be honest, I'd rather there WERE pictures like this circling the web, purely because it does actually show that hey "Screw your low expectations of me. i can achieve just like everyone else"...

Yes, the slogans attached can have a wealth of meaning behind it and speak much of the general population's attitude.... but at the same time, i'm glad it's not a "like if you feel sorry for this disabled person" or "like and comment and 1 dollar will be donated for this person's wheelchair"...

I'm glad these slogan campaigns raise awareness about the strengths and CAPABILITY of people with disabilities!! I get so fed up with people who think I can't do anything because of my disability...

But I do recognise the disadvantage in these campaigns, in that they are not intellectually driven, and they do not make people think deeply about it, in a sense, these campaigns affect people's attitudes on the surface kind of level, but I still think it's better than campaigns with a completely negative focus on "DIS"ability!

Me too :

Inspired :

I feel like a Johnny come lately on this topic, but I've been giving this a lot of thought since I read this article.

To be inspired, is to see something in someone or something that you wish you saw more in yourself.

To be the source of this inspiration, you may or may not have done anything extra-ordinary in your books, because, lets face it, most people are just trying to get by and aren't seeking to be an inspiration to anyone. Never-the-less, many people are magnificent in their own way.

I am by no means a happy hippy, who sees the best in everyone, but I will not be judged by how I wish to be inspired, as long as it's not something evil...

Just Learning :

13 Sep 2012 8:18:33am

Thought provoking... thank you. Disabled 5 years after being bucked off my horse, I get the "inspirational" comment frequently as I am re-learning to ride. I just feel so uncomfortable hearing it. I am just now realizing that it is probably because it makes me frightened that if I am not successful in meeting my goal of returning to trail riding, I will have failed. Interestingly, I would not feel a failure in my own eyes but fear I will see it in theirs. Additionally, I am now 62 years old (don't know how that happened?), Possibly the inspirational statement is addressing that. If so, my emotional response is still the same. Your perspective is food for thought.

Chiller :

ALFAJAM :

I understand your distaste at the whole 'inspiration porn' thing. I had never viewed those pictures in that way but I get it; I wouldn't want to be the focus of people's 'It could be worse' scenarios.

I find it a bit strange though that you complain about being singled out for a possible award and a woman saying you are inspirational on the train because you don't feel your disability qualifies as some sort of achievement...but then, you state that the physical environment is by far the most disabling thing in your life.

Is it not possible that these 'non-disabled' well wishers simply recognise the challenges of living day-to-day in a physical environment that wasn't designed with you in mind? Can these gestures not stem from an admiration of the strength you show in a world that's all too slow to adapt to your needs?

I think you're either too modest or you're tying yourself in intellectual knots because you love a good angry rant ;-)

Al :

17 Aug 2012 3:10:14pm

The statement Scott Hamilton said or endorses, should read, "the only disability in life is Media"s bad attitude". It's sad how we seem to have decayed to the point we need to hold onto these images to make us feel better about the world. When we.have a multitude of mass shootings, war in Syria, European financial crisis, etc. We need inspirational imagery just to cope.

I too have a disability, a very complex condition and I actually inspire myself how I have the will to get up every day. I go out and on many occasions, I get blessed. If this keeps up, I may become a saint!

If people need these images to escape their ordinary lives and have hope that it can only get better, let them have it. Sure, we as disabled people know different, but so what? If someone says to you that you "inspire" them, just say, "thanks"!

Buddy :

16 Aug 2012 10:44:03pm

The term "inspirational" needs to be clearly defined here in order to exact an opinion. The way you use many of your terms indicates you have assigned a generalized understanding among the population in a way that is prejudiced to your point of view. This is not so and it also exposes your position that the ability to be "normal" in a "normal" environment for one with disabilities is the norm but doing so is actually inspiring. I'd like to define it according to Webster as "having a particular cause or influence". Given that, there are a multitude of people who are "inspiring" because they influence others to try or to excel. And to not give up. Oscar Pistorius is inspiring but so is Michael Jordan. I also find many of my friends to be inspiring for a host of different reasons. Every one of the Olympians is inspiring, not necessarily because of their performance but, to me, because of their extraordinary dedication to something. Your "porn" point of view would seem to forbid commenting on anyone's abilities because it would then put undue pressure on them to perform to a particular standard. I think you also will have to provide parameters for the term "disabled". Any person with predominately fast twitch muscle fibers is disabled when it comes to competing against those with predominately slow twitch muscle fibers in a long distance running event. As a mental health professional I meet people on a daily basis who are not visibly "disabled" but who are certainly different from the norm in that they have to live and work out of a reality that is not the same as the population in general. They are often inspirational because of the effort put forth to not only function in the world but often to excel in what they try. I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I also believe in holding people accountable for any lack of effort that "disables" them in accordance with their unique individual potential.

Chris Sakul-Thongbai :

09 Aug 2012 10:55:18pm

Excellent article, What you said is what I have been trying to say all these years. I just didn't know how to articulate it properly.I have many friends with various disabilities - from mild intellectual disability to severe physical disability. I also have worked supporting children and young people with disability. And with all that experience, I regularly see this type of "inspiration porn" and experience some of that myself. When I go out socialising or just having a night out about town with friends, oh how people love to come to me and my friends and tell me how "brave" or "courageous" my friends are. Umm.. yes, a man in a wheelchair drinking a beer is obviously "inspirational". I fail to see the point.As much as I can, when I see these "inspirational porn" posted on social networking sites, I usually make sure that my opinion is known. I will cause heated argument, or get flamed, or be called heartless. But I have never shied away from educating people about disability issues.Thank you for this article. I will share it as often as I can.Cheers

Veronica A :

Award :

Veronica Acuna :

06 Aug 2012 12:44:21pm

Well written and I agree that individuals with disabilities for doing everyday activities. But when you see an individual running a race, or completing a triathlon with a prosthetic, that's inspiring. I have a friend living with cancer, and trains with all of the side effects. The visual impairments, the vertigo, the fatigue, etc etc, and she completes Ironman after Ironman. That's inspiring. As a teacher I see everyday students who are naturally talented at different things, but it's those students who may not be naturally gifted in an area, but work relentlessly at the process of improvement. That's inspiring.

Deb Roach :

06 Aug 2012 9:59:35am

You make a few sweeping generalisations and broad statements herein that make me as uncomfortable as 'disability porn' makes you. OK if you are doing nothing out of the ordinary - but what of those of us with disability that ARE doing something out of the ordinary? I have no arm and I hold a world title in pole dancing. I think I AM inspirational, thanks, as do about 170 000 other people at last count. Some of us actually focus on the benefits of how our disability has helped us become expert in adaptation, transition and adversarial growth 0 and actually enjoy helping able bodied people learn from our experience. you might be bog standard, inspirational images might make your blood boil just as some people don't find cat captions funny, but I think your response is extreme. SOME inspiration porn can result in shaming people with disabilities, I suppose - because this is true for you. It isn't true for me and I actually don't appreciate you speaking for me.

George B :

06 Aug 2012 1:36:32pm

Sorry, I must have missed the bit where the author claimed to be speaking for you, or for anyone else. Any statements she makes are clearly in the context of this opinion piece and are therefore her opinion.

Jennie Kermode :

Nicole GW :

03 Aug 2012 7:22:38am

I totally agree with this article. I have a L-1 spinal cord injury since my teenage years, and I'm also an occupational therapist. I find it incredibly asinine at times to work amongst other medical professionals due to the fact that they cannot see me as performing the same duties as they do (but in a different way). The medical professionals have drawn such a thick line between 'disabled' and 'normal' that it makes it frustrating to NOT be 'defying the odds', etc on a daily basis at work. The medical field can be some of the most ostracizing when it comes to differently abled practitioners working amongst them. Am I healthy? Extremely. Do I use a wheelchair for mobility? Yes.

I too grew up with a family that never treated me 'special' because of my injury. The awards I have received have been for participating in conferences, achievements at work and school. I grew up in a middle class family who lived comfortably.. and in my book- didn't overcome anything that wasn't normal.

This topic gets sticky when you consider "the dilemma of difference".. which simply states that disabled folks don't want to be treated differently, however the environment can be so disabling at times that there must be special measures/laws in place to protect these 'different' people.

My last and final comment will be on phrases like "he beat cancer" or "she lost her battle with cancer". There is no winning or losing.. there are no rules or training you can do to survive cancer. Like all medical diagnosis, it depends on luck, severity, and the type of medical care provided. It always make me so upset when illness is phrased in a way that makes it seem like one person had more 'courage' or 'stamina' to survive then the other. Pure rubbish.

Andi :

01 Aug 2012 2:45:47am

What do u mean cancer is not a disability....disability means u are unable to preform normally...Disability is caused by impairments to various subsystems of the body... I dont believe you have ever gone threw the process of cancer, the meds, the cause and effects of meds, the surgeries, and recovery... The amount of mental suffering you go threw, the amount of time you spend laying in a bed recovering wondering,,, is this the day you die? I have a child who is disabled, she has dwarfism. You can physically see she is little, you can see the world was built different compared to her, and she struggles just to reach the t.p. in the bathroom... No it dosent magically get closer to her...I do it. I am her longer arms, I am her stroller when shes tired of walking long distance threw the store, I am the light switch operator, and the door opener. I am a single mom, running around doing all these things for her,and taking care of myself, and doing the things to run our house....I am happy, worn out, but happy. Did I mention I am disabled? I am 36, and no longer able to be the firefighter I trained to be, or the cake decorator I worked at for 15 yrs...Top pay in my field! All I did was fall...I hit my head, and now my legs and arms tremor, sometimes it causes me to have seizures, and the weakness in my limbs, I cant even lift my 6 yr old 35 lb daughter longer than a few mins... People see me and dont see the physical and mental anguish I go threw... Scott Hamilton has been threw alot with his cancer, and he could of given up at any time and stopped being an athlete.He didnt give into the sickness his body keeps producing, but he keeps trying... I bet while in the hospital he met a few cancer survivors who dwell on the problem and gave up there usual lives. These folks maybe could of been happy if there" Bad attitude" hadnt stopped them... Maybe the saying isnt for those who dont have disability's, but for the ones who do... I could be angry my body isnt working correctly, or that all my training and hard work is out the door do to a fall. I am my daughters keeper in a world to big... But I try my best to have happiness! I make good memories for us, and I look for the little things to bring joy. Here is my statement" Smile, it is a silent Joy that spreads." I have seen it change peoples attitudes with or without disability's...

Paul :

30 Jul 2012 11:04:50pm

I mostly agree with Stella on this. It's tacky and terribly demeaning to do the "ooo look at the disabled person manage to do something everyone else does" meme.

But there is something else here: "...if we fail to be happy, to smile and to live lives that make those around us feel good, it's because we're not trying hard enough. Our attitude is just not positive enough. It's our fault. "

This applies to all of us Stella. Part of being a "normal, regular" person, if such a thing exists, is being subjected to constant pressure to be positive, upbeat and optimistic about everything. By your own standards then, it should apply to disabled people as well. It is undoubtedly more difficult for those with disabilities, but if you don't want to set yourself apart, there's no option but to try.

Pina :

31 Jul 2012 2:56:24pm

Stella is a great advocate for the disabled, and I enjoy her articles and in particular her perspectives. It's easy to be too earnest with these things though: those posters are simply advertising which we all know is generally lame, crappy and trivial. You can read too much into these things and at the same time scare/p*ss off people who don't understand disability - which is fine if it's your aim but you get more flies with honey.

Susan Jenninga :

29 Jul 2012 12:20:21pm

Wow. I find you inspirational...not because of any disability, but, rather, because of your writing ability. Your diction, syntax, and tone all meld perfectly into an incredibly well-written piece. Well done! (Probably not the point, I know, but I AM an English teacher.)

Daniela :

Disabilities DO exist :

25 Jul 2012 11:41:26am

Firstly, I find that quote to be dismissive of disability in the first place. To me it minimises disability, all disability. Saying that if you are a quadriplegic, then damn it you can climb everest so long as you have the right attitude.

We all have limitations, and in many cases the most wonderful attitude in the world will not change them.

Secondly, as someone with a chronic mental illness, i am expected to overcome this condition with an attitude adjustment. Try telling someone with cancer or diabetes that they should get rid of their illness & symptoms and live a completely normal life, simply by having a positive attitude and changing how they think.

To me, it's incredibly invalidating of the fact that disability DOES (or CAN, it's individual, everyone is different) negatively impact your life & not "only if you allow it to". Otherwise it wouldn't be a disability now would it? It would be like having brown hair instead of blonde. Or being a bit on the short side.

Of course, if you think you can enjoy a full, happy and productive life with my illness, well you're welcome to have it & overcome it. The fact is you don't have it and to say you wouldn't be negatively affected by it is beyond presumptuous.

Sue Hancock :

Sha :

13 Aug 2013 4:40:47am

I'm not one of the ones that posted above but really, that would be silly to post under actual name as it is unwise to do so in general on the internet. Yeah, it's just a name, but you'd be surprised by what people can find out about someone with just their name...

Irene :

23 Jul 2012 3:43:35pm

I am aware that this issue is about inspirational porn and not about disabilities directly, but it HAS to talk about disabilities...

What I try to say, is that the way the add is presented is not likable, and does not present the issues and problems, and the message it self, in a human and profound manner, but rather in a advertising manner. And we all know the values that advertising world stands for...

When I see advertising like this I feel something is not in place . It does not reach the part of my brain and heart and spirit that supposedly the message has to reach.

I believe that the opinion depends upon if it engages you with your own experience regarding disabilities, and I am sure each experience is as different as human beings are different.And also it depends if you guide your consciousness and your feelings by guilt and by "what you are supposed to feel and think"

What amazes me is the great set of prosthetic legs !!! wow, look so great, and to find out that they cannot be available as needed... as so many basic things for most of the population of the world... just gets me angry . Of our system and the way things are organized. I hope our thoughts and feelings and consciousness guides us to build better place , better suited for alls needs!!!!

Martin L :

23 Jul 2012 10:34:22am

I agree, for some people with disabilities I can imagine it would be degrading to be paraded around for doing something they find normal like catching the train to work or getting good grades in school, for some yes that would be an achievement but for the majority it is normal, with a few exceptions.

George Nikolaou :

23 Jul 2012 10:27:17am

everyone if not most people should know that a disabled person aren't always the type of inpsirational people what some depicts them to be... to a certain extent although. we do hear of inspiartional stories through the media and what not, but we're not always gonna have 100% disabled people overcome their disabilities and become paralympians and inspire others that anything can be achieved. but without the equipment in the outside world, not everything is wheelchair accesible and not entirely made for disabled people in which they should be. but the only poor attitude here is from the author itself, anything is possible, but it cant be done with a snap of the finger, but anything is possible so don't degrade others as disabled people are the same as others nothing different they can inspire others to achieve their goals with no worries, poor opinion author.

an :

22 Jul 2012 1:25:58am

Sorry to this writer-this author. Have you got a problem, an inferiority complex or something. We have a daughter with down syndrome and she is different. Okay just face it. This is why she need more tender loving care than the strong ones. Okay your attitude is rubbish.

Sue Hancock :

Shanna :

26 Jul 2012 9:40:52pm

Which is exactly what I think AN is trying to say. On one hand Stella talks about daily activities being "normal" and "no big deal". A few paragraphs down we hear how ramps aren't everywhere and how everyday tasks are made more difficult. Maybe that is why people commend people with disabilities - for living what appears to be a normal life in a world that is mostly designed for the abled.

Joshua :

20 Jul 2012 11:28:07am

I agree, I think that people that have a disability are often paraded around made to feel special instead of treating them like normal people. I agree that they need a bit of special treatment because they have special needs, but treating certain individuals like they're "godlike" is just wrong in my opinion.

Anon :

26 Jul 2012 12:15:49pm

Welcome to life, where being energetic and personable does actuallly get you somewhere sometimes.Speaking as a severely obese person with a mental illness I can relate to this; I've discovered that to be treated equally, sometimes I actually have to be more outgoing and jolly than a quote unquote normal person would. It sucks, it's life, not much to be done about it.

mom up :

TH :

17 Jul 2012 10:56:44pm

I think this ad can help some people feel inspired, but the overkill from what you describe here seems to be too much.

We can all use some inspiration to count our blessings and that is HUGE. Anyone struggling with an illness or disability knows that the minute they see someone worse off they "can" get strength to endure better with what they are dealing with Gratitude goes a long way.

At the same time driving it home too much with these ads Appears to be to make "others" feel good who do not have disabilities as if See they are Doing JUST fine.

And they can move on with their life without working to help others change Access in buildings and rights disabled people need to live a productive life. To help people have Compassion, because it is Not always easy.. that is silly to think if you lost your legs all is well and you move on with such ease.

There is nerve damage involved many times and Lots of Pain and also there Is a Difference when someone is Hurt with an Accident or in our wars.

That affects their whole body from every trickle down function of how the body works from the ASSULT of the accident on the overall body... the limbs or injury is a visual thing, but inside the body coping with this ASSULT there are many other things people end up Suffering with over the years with Health, just from the medications given Because of the Assault and injury and also the Stress on the body from the injury, its a whole different picture overall, many miss seeing or understanding the complexity of this on the overall health of each person injured.

Not everyones injury affects people the same. Some have Pain wearing prosthetics from nerve damage and bone spurs , Health overall is affected, where other problems arise from this Assault on their system.

So there is a difference with this. We need more support about making life accessible for all, and accepting differences and especially as Stella mentioned Invisible disabilities from injuries physically we can see to those we can't, especially with so many soldiers coming home.

I think these ads add a touch of Buck up and move on... gain strength for gratitude, you can do it BUT if it is pushed too far with this whole campaign of this it goes to another level, it takes it to the Comfort level for those who do not have to STRUGGLE every day and have their whole body in pain and neurological issues, and added health conditions from the assault they ENDURED from their Injury; it takes it to making others without a disability feel better.

We need more out there for those who have had their whole life changed from an accident and injury and their body is affected in every way with their health & the DAILY Torture and Struggle They Go Through each day to survive and create a life and to try to gain back their health from one issue that arises to the next because of the a

iiagdtr :

17 Jul 2012 12:13:33am

Running prosthesis are expensive but if someone cannot afford it via insurance or out-of-pocket, then there are many organizations that can and will help, like the CAF and Achilles International. Many prosthetists assist as well. Actual cost of the blade is actually very reasonable, there are other factors that drive the cost up.

As once an able-bodied and now amputee runner, I can say without reservation there is no way to understand this difference unless you experience it, just as you cannot truly understand being blind unless that is the way you live your life every single day. Take inspiration where you find it, but unless it comes from within then it will fail you those last miles where you are only thinking of taking one. more. step.

electrictree :

16 Jul 2012 2:10:50pm

Thank you for articulating so aptly what I have been feeling. Inspirational porn has always given me a sick feeling to my stomach, it always just seems so demeaning. Because I don't have any physical disabilities my dislike for it is something I have trouble articulating, I feel like I've been mildly brainwashed-every time I try to to figure out why I hate them so much, I am filled with feelings of intense guilt. How can I look at a picture of a darling little girl running and feel disgust for the inspiration it is supposed to inspire? Doesn't that make me a horrible person?You put it accurately and succinctly-because she is objectified.Thank you again for this fantastic article!

TheWordShaker :

16 Jul 2012 1:44:20am

I enjoyed reading this.Sad part is: There are inspirational talkers, live coache, and such, who are disabled and who bank on exactly what Stella is complaining about.They are using their disability to make a buck.And congratualtions for them. Some I've seen can't work in any other field, because all they can do is talk. And since that one topic is the elephant in the room - why not talk about it.The problem is that, mostly, I get the same "happy attitude", "hang in there", "smile it through" rethoric from them as I get from any other non-disabled smart-talker. (This, BTW, is the reason I don't like life coaches and motivational talkers much. It's off-putting to me, no matter who employs it: Disabled or not - if you want to insinuate that all I need is a "good" attitude to make it in life and it is therefore my fault that I somehow can't hack it - I am not going to like you very much.)After I enjoyed reading the post, I immidiately head-desked when reading parts of the comment section.Way to not get it, guys.

anthony higgins :

15 Jul 2012 3:46:47pm

Wow awesome article , I after many years of troubles with everyone I have a work or close relationship with,I have found myself on the way to being diagnosed with Mental dissability,no longer will my Problems with frustration,blankless stare,confrontional manner and dissinterest go without a reason,but to all those normal people my problem will always remain unseen,I have always wished that sometimes I could walk around with an axe in my head, not bleading or causing pain or anything,but just sticking out of my head,then people might seee my mental outbursts and other different opinions as axe in the head syndrome instead of some type of autistic spectrom dissorder that most of the people who say Im too difficult cant seem to understand,I have totally lost track now so great article.,

cm5 :

nettesings :

12 Jul 2012 10:48:36pm

You might not be here to be an inspiration for non-disabled people but images like the one you were referring to are inspirations for my son who wears a prosthesis. He never sees anyone like him at school, camp, or at hockey. He often feels alone and wonders what is the point of trying to do physio or rehab because he will never be able to be as good as he wants to be. But when he sees Oscar Pistorius run or Sarah Reinersten ride a bike he has hope. I do understand the intention of your piece, that the well meaning but incredibly ignorant comments or slogans people use usually only serve to make them feel better about themselves and may be a trap for people with a disability who do not aspire to be athletic phenoms or poster people for a cause. But whether you like it or not, there are moments in your life that will serve as inspiration for others and there are people out there who do need inspiring. But I do thank you for your voice and your willingness to write what you feel because it makes people think about their views of other people and maybe how they will approach someone in the future.

iiagdtr :

rawr :

12 Jul 2012 6:39:16pm

Great article. Really inspiring ;)

Really though, it's an interesting perspective that should be promoted. I always felt uncomfortable when I see 'inspirational' posters. It just seems so smarmy. The way you described it really put into words why I feel that way.

Though to be honest, the troll within me really wants to go up to disabled people I see on the train and tell them they're an inspiration for no reason. *must...resist.... being... a.... dick....*

Paralympian :

I used to feel the same way as you. I used to get annoyed because people loved to point out how amazing I was just for living a life, that I percieved as normal.

But a few years ago, I stopped trying to be 'normal' and fight back because I realised that everything I did whether I had a disability or not was awesome! It was because of my personality, and not because of what my legs can or can't do. I learnt to love myself in every way!

I am a Life Coach, and maybe some people come to me because I am 'different' but good on them for taking the step in their lives to make a change and be the best that they can be, who gives a sh^t if they are coming to me because they think I'll be able to inspire them more than someone that can walk!

If you feel angry or over it when people tell you that they find you insprational, well that's your personaliy map - not theirs.

If you can't control what they're thinking, don't worry about it - it's not worth your energy.

ART :

12 Jul 2012 11:06:39pm

"If you can't control what they're thinking, don't worry about it - it's not worth your energy."

So why did you even bother to reply? Presumably it was to make your opinion known in an effort to change the way others think. If not, then there was no reason (other than everything you do is awesome?) to express it.

Changing societal attitudes requires changing the way people think. And it *is* worth some people's energy.

Leigh :

15 Jul 2012 11:29:04pm

I compltely agree with Stella. Im so tired of Inspiration porn i want to hide under my trophy cabinet. Not only do we have to put up with motivationsl gurus getting paid for what most of us with disabilities learnt to do all by ourselves years ago, we are expected to smile as well! Because we all know there's nothing worse than a cranky ungrateful disabled woman. Which makes me wonder why no-one ever photographed me shopping after a full day at work, cranky toddler at my heels, aching spastic limbs dragging my groceries to the car. Oh! That's right! Im not inspirirational! I'm just doing my thing!

sanfrustration :

12 Jul 2012 1:27:43pm

This reminds me of a woman from England that was complaining that every man she encountered was gawking at her and making her feel uncomfortable. The reason I heard about this story was because she was not attractive at all, and it went viral.

Stella, I'm sorry you have this attitude, I really am. But I can guarantee you that you will never inspire me. I can't articulate exactly what inspires me just like I can't articulate exactly what kind of woman I'm attracted to, but I can promise you that your attitude will preclude you from hitting my radar in either category, so good luck and godspeed.

uradick :

Daniel :

12 Jul 2012 9:48:32am

I get where you're coming from Stella, I do, but a positive attitude is one of the best qualities a person can have, maybe the best, and I'm sure Hamilton didn't ask for his quote to be plastered everywhere.

Angelika :

John :

11 Jul 2012 4:00:15pm

My very favourite thing about this piece is that Stella explicitly states "If we even begin to question the way we're labelled, we slide immediately to the other end of the scale and become "bitter" and "ungrateful"."

And here you all are calling her exactly that. She's smart enough to pre-epmt your crap before you've even had a chance to pull it, but you go right ahead and do it it anyway.

Steve :

@confused Just as I don't speak for you, I'm pretty sure Stella doesn't speak on behalf of all "disabled" people, nor women, Australians or people named Stella for that matter.

The comments suggest that many people with disabilities - both identifiable and not - disagree with Stella.

We're allowed to have opinions, they're often different. That's just life.

I particularly like this quote from the film Murderball:'The thing you have to realize about Zupan,” one old friend muses, “is that he was an asshole before the accident. Any attempt to blame his current grumpiness on the wheelchair is pure fallacy'

nettesings :

12 Jul 2012 10:53:57pm

We really are not all the same. While we all might have some frailty, it is not comparable to the fact that many people have enormous physical, mental and emotional struggles they must overcome everyday just to do normal things. I don't know if they should be celebrated for overcoming their struggles but I don't think undervaluing their struggle is the right way to think either.

J :

13 Jul 2012 3:23:26pm

Thanks E.V., I alo really appreciate that comment. As a person with mental illness, the assumption that I could just "think differently" or look to other qualities in myself (perhaps like my mobility?) is frustrating and hurtful. Thanks Stella.

Jill :

11 Jul 2012 1:12:13am

My mom had a botched cancer removal surgery years ago that left her barely able to use her left arm at all. She gets very frustrated with it when it doesn't work right or do what she needs it to. She tells me that when she sees pics like the little girl writing with her teeth or they go to the VA hospital and she sees guys there who lost whole arms to bombs but who still can do whatever they need to it pushes her and encourages her to get back on the horse and not give up. She can tie her shoes now with one hand! She says it tells her she is not alone and if other people can push themselves to try she can too. So, I see the problem with able bodied people gawking at the pics and saying "yeah I can get my lazy butt up today if he can" but for encouraging someone else who is struggling with their own disability it might have its place?

Alison :

09 Jul 2012 10:50:30am

Thank you for a great article. I worked in disability services for 10 years and people would say inane things like 'it must be wonderful, 'they' all have such beautiful auroras.' There is nothing beautiful about the aurora of an angry young man using his electric wheelchair as a weapon when he is pissed off, I have the scars to prove it.

I even had a senior manager in a large service provider deny a pay rise with the excuse 'we do this because we love it not for the money' - well love won't pay my rent!

I love the phrase 'inspiration porn', your article will now help me properly articulate why it is so nauseating and just plain wrong.

Spoonydoc :

07 Jul 2012 8:00:09pm

I am fairly physically disabled and getting worse!About 10 years ago I did receive an award for outstanding achievement. In my case it was for achieving it "in the face of adversity". At first I didn't want to accept, until it was pointed out to me that I HAD done some fantastic academic achievements by anybody's standards and would have been considered for the award anyway just on that basis. And then on top of that I had achieved it even though I had spent a lot of the previous 2 years in hospital, always playing catch up and working through some extremely difficult times. Once satisfied that it was my extra academic achievements which were getting me noticed, not a "awww bless, she got her degree", then I was willing to accept.

At around the same time I used to joke that the post office must have trolls or monsters living in it. I used to get very annoyed by how often I was told I was "brave" while waiting in the queue to post a parcel. In that instance I wasn't doing anything special and the person knew nothing about me other than I used an electric wheelchair.

The situation today though is very different. I finally gave up work 2 years ago. I am mostly housebound. Some days getting from the bedroom to the lounge is an "achievement". Right now I haven't left my flat at all for 3 weeks. If I were to go to that same post office, it would in fact be difficult, painful and a challenge (even though I'm sitting in a wheelchair and according to the author that is nothing and easier than standing is for someone who isn't disabled!). My friends would be delighted to hear it and would congratulate me. And I in turn would without irony be pleased to accept their congratulations.

This sort of "achievement" is not going to win me any awards. I will not be deemed "inspirational" for it. But I can tell you this. Doing this sort of everyday mundane thing is every bit as difficult as doing the academic outstanding things which netted me prizes 10 years ago. It requires just as much willpower and determination. But I'm not going to get any recognition for it. And while I don't particularly want to, I feel that many others are in my position and our efforts should not be automatically disdained.

And while strangers shouldn't automatically judge all disabled people they meet as inspirational, in turn don't be too quick to dismiss disabled people doing mundane things. For some, it really is a huge achievement.

Chanda :

10 Jul 2012 4:46:38am

As someone who wasn't born with a "disability" but who has had to learn to live with one after an accident, I completely agree with this sentiment. I think for some people, these things can feel like acts of bravery, and sometimes those of us who are not feeling very brave need inspiration. So, I agree that inspiration porn is grotesque, but I don't see the need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Some people will feel like they've really had to work hard for something and for others it will be easier to get along with every day life. I think one of the best things we can do is challenge the ableist attitude that it's going to be the same for all of us.

anthony higgins :

15 Jul 2012 4:08:55pm

I jumped out of a boat 300km out in the Indian Ocean,with 5-8 m seas and 30 knot winds, onto a reef and walked accross it for 250meters to rescue three sailors who had capsized and washed up onto the reef and although nominated for a bravery award I never recieved one,Now Im facing a diganosis of Aspergers or something to being very differnt and I want my award,I want something thats shows my ability to get in and face adversity when a life might be at risk,at the moment everyone knows my inability to deal with abuse,sarcasim and they think Im untrustworthy and a risk and a problem.yes Im a problem if you see my list of previous employers who have choosen to see me that way.The word brave is so stupidly used ,I would be happier to be given a humanitarian award for limiting loss of a human life than being called brave,because during the whole rescue I was shitting myself and still have nightmares today that Im being swept off the reef and washed away,It makes me wonder if physically challenged people suffer the same anxities as someone with Aspergers when it comes to to being accepted.

Marcy :

07 Jul 2012 7:24:30am

I am a severely disabled person and proud of it. I am blind, in an electric wheelchair, and use a working dog (I trained). I am neither wheelchair bound. Long suffering, or poor little cripple. I hate the attitude of our being something to PITY, PISS ON IT! I run an organization makeup of us poor disabled people that does peer support, and recycle's rebuilds and loans out disability related equipment of all types free to our people. I am an educated person who does what is necessary and with many others serve's our people's needs. I am not a VICTIM, I am a Volunteer in life!

Jess :

StBob :

06 Jul 2012 5:21:15pm

Stella - I have nothing but admiration for your struggles to get your views heard - it must be terrible being so articulate and not being heard. Okay I am being sarcastic. Your article is spot on as usual. Is that statement any less patronising because I am also disabled? I say learn to take a compliment, they are few and far between in this world.

I recently emailed my friend AC and told her she absolutely must get you on her tv program. She replied that you were on the night before. D'oh! We all fuck up.

I can only quote EM Forster's closing lines from Howard's End - "to only connect". If these ads help that then I am all for them. Maybe there are much better ways to connect and if so we should absolutely push for them. Personally I am all for "differently abled" rather than "disabled". I used to think it was some PC nonsense but don't any more. Someone who hasn't been disabled is unlikely to "get it" either.

It's up to me to educate individuals who sometimes get it wrong. I invariably start with "thanks so much for opening the door but...". I don't want them to not offer the next time to someone who may genuinely benefit from their assistance.

deb kogan :

06 Jul 2012 4:39:49am

Good for you! I have very severe lung disease and arthritis and I get awed comments all the time for doing everyday things. It may take me a bit longer, but I don't feel that I'm accomplishing anything amazing. On the other hand, I am proud of the jewelry I design and make. We all (hopefully) learn to work with the cards we're dealt.

And don't blame me that on days I can't breathe or move so well that I don't make dinner or weed the garden. It's all just part of the package.

orange_texta :

05 Jul 2012 6:58:39pm

I love this article, I think it's intelligent, well written, and articulates a huge source of frustration for those of us with disabilities, and frankly I'm a little shocked by the level of vitriol it seems to have inspired in the comments section.

Look, I've had people literally bursting into tears while describing how inspired they are by my 'struggles'.

In public.

And EVERY time it happens I'm doing nothing more astonishing than buying aspirin. Or stamps. Or... whatever. Just perfectly ordinary day to day stuff. And yes, I admit, I was probably a bit brusque on these occasions - mainly because of a desperate desire to extricate myself as quickly as possible from a deeply embarrassing situation.

And yes, undoubtedly these people meant well and were not setting out to offend or upset me. I know that. But that's not the point. The point is that they were not actually responding to me, or something real about me, they were responding to a perception of me that is based on exactly the kind of sugary media images that the article describes. And THAT'S the point. What the article is doing is critiquing the dumbing down of disability, not having a go at well meaning people.

For those who think that disabled people have a "chip on their shoulder" or an "attitude problem", please consider what it's like to be frequently placed in positions like the one I've described, or to be offered unnecessary assistance umpteen times a day... and then often subjected to a diatribe about how ungrateful you are if you fail to respond in the way the non-disabled person expects. The other side of the coin.

uninspired :

Bru :

05 Jul 2012 10:54:41am

Courage has to relate to the intentional taking of risk and for it to be praiseworthy should be a risk to achieve a good. It is not courage to simply obey the survival instinct. I think overcoming odds that are stacked against you is courage but is not the same thing as risking one's life to save another person. I think that I am happy to describe someone who overcomes obsticals to live life well as courage but not say falling into the ocean and struggling to save one's self. I think the later is simply the desire to survive. I do understand however that some people try harder to survive than some others, so it is not an easy question. Anyway anyone who is doing their best - great!!

Sam :

06 Jul 2012 9:08:41pm

I had this exact conversation with someone recently. We discussed how the words "brave" and "hero" are so often misused in Australia. To me, bravery implies a choice - you can choose to be brave, or not. I don't think you must be heroic to be brave. Take the example of a child attempting the flying fox for the first time, when she was so scared that she would fall - she could simply choose not to do it, or she could be "brave", overcome her fear, and go for it. She has a choice, but the outcome either way is not heroic.

Nevertheless, "hero" is abused in this country, in my opinion. Imagine classifying a sportsperson as a hero! For what? Heroes do things above and beyond what is required - they are not just doing their job, and they may actually risk their lives for someone else.

But anyway, it's an interesting debate. And besides, I could be wrong - after all, misuse of language is how language evolves.

lunamarta :

05 Jul 2012 7:25:51am

well, disabled people will never be seen as equal to non-disabled anyways... but i much prefer to be an "inspiration" than "a freak" or "poor thing" or "someone to stay away from"... sometimes i get a feeling the majority of adult population has never seen anyone with a disability or has never imagined disabilities exist (judging by their reactions)... but some things in the article are can fully agree with.

Julius Flywheel :

12 Jul 2012 2:19:17pm

Spot on Matt.

I liken some people's positive or negaitve anxieties as they see their own fear of mortality and possible suffering manifest, objectified an focussed in us.

it's a way of sorting out social heirarchies and heven help us if we knock back a seat on the tram. some days I need to stretch my legs, not sit and if I prefer to stand and politely decline the fervent offer of a seat, I often get dirty looks and occasional verbal abuse

Amber :

29 Jul 2012 2:45:29am

I agree that many people act as though they've never come in contact with a disabled person before and I've seen it quite a few times.

There's this very sexy guy who works at a local store and he happens to be in a wheelchair. I've always been nervous around him but that's because I think he's cute :) One day he greeted a woman and her son at the door and the woman freaked out, Without saying a word and taking a quick deep breath she spun her shopping cart around the other direction and ran her son over with the cart trying to avoid talking to the greeter. I was mortified because she acted like whatever reason he's in the chair must be contagious and she didn't want to breathe the same air as him.

I've also seen quite a bit of verbal abuse on our public transit of people in wheelchairs, with walkers/canes or with guide dogs and it frustrates the hell out of me because ANYONE might find themselves in the same situation some day. I believe in treating people how you want to be treated and at the very least trying to be kind to the various people you meet throughout the day.

I was fortunate enough to be raised around many different types of people, healthy, disabled, gay, straight, transgender, black, white, asian so none of those things matter to me, if we have things in common and can have a good time talking and hanging out or going to movies then I really don't care so long as no one tries to abuse my friends whether they are healthy or otherwise.

Elaine :

05 Jul 2012 4:22:18am

Thank you. I am a sighted daughter of two (very inspirational) blind parents. As a child, well intentioned people would often pull me aside to tell me how amazing my parents were. And they were - just not because of the reasons given (basically that they exist or that I was able to grow up without some terrible tragedies happening to me). As I child I internalized that these people somehow saw my perfectly normal parents as somehow less-human. It was extremely confusing to me. As an adult, trying to explain this to friends/coworkers/etc becomes quite challenging. This post will give me something to have them go read and hopefully help them to understand.

edith :

Karen T :

04 Jul 2012 3:29:33pm

I love the article, but for me it barely touches on the experience of those with an intellectual disability, an area of disability that I think is too often not considered. I acknowledge this is not your experience. For people with an intellectual disability this quote and ones like it are ludicrous. Disability is real. It often cannot be overcome, and results in a lifelong (although often shortened) struggle for survival and any level of quality of life, for the person with the disability and the family supporting them. It results in parents giving up careers, suffering from depression, siblings becoming isolated and not able to reach their potential, relationships breaking down. It is not a matter of just a change in attitude. My child has the most positive attitude that you can imagine, but the disability still shapes his life and that of those around him to a large degree. To blame him, or us as his family is insulting.

D FUGLSANG :

05 Jul 2012 2:41:13pm

Here here ! My daughter has a severe intellectual disability. You cannot generalize about disability in this way. People with intellectual disabilities, particularly on the more severe end of the spectrum, face huge challenges and frustrations in life that cannot be erased with sweeping statements such as just changing our attitudes. Of course this helps, but public attitude does not affect the myriad of everyday tasks that a person with intellectual disability and their family face "behind closed doors" of their own home. The person themselves may not fully understand about personal cleanliness, the need for sleep, the concept of personal space and personal safety...the list is endless. I agree the photos mentioned in the article can be seen as "inspirational porn" but also acknowledge that the lives that SOME people with intellectual disability live are fraught with constant frustration and colossal challenges and thus can be at times very inspirational to those of us whose challenges are not as extreme.

Naomi :

06 Jul 2012 10:50:31pm

Ummmm I think you will find this is the whole point of the article. You can not generalise. A picture of someone with a disability being used to illustrate "overcoming difficulty" implies that disability is all about difficulty. If the meme does not work by using any other person in that spot, then that is what it is about. That does not mean that there is not difficulty, and plenty of it, associated with disability. What it does mean is a stranger does not have the right to make that call. What if I assume a blond woman has a lovely life because she is good looking? How does that feel to her when she is experiencing mental illness, domestic violence and serious health problems? Dont judge a book by its cover is all that it amounts to.

pbfromippy :

04 Jul 2012 1:52:35pm

I guess for me the quote stands on its own. It does not need the images that seem to abound with the quote. I have myself used this quote without the image and have found it to be powerful. Given that I have a non-diagnosed impairment and have parents and children and other family members who are labelled, I find the quote challenges the garbage I have taken for most of my life and as have my family members from people who have a bad attitude toward people who have obvious or non-obvious impairment that impacts upon their life by disabling them within society and community and starts from very early in their lives. I guess the question I would ask the author is, 'If the image was just the image on its own, would anyone even take the time to look at the image'? I ask this because people with significant impairment still struggle each day to make their way in systems that choose to make people invisible. Visibility matters. I do not disagree with the author, I think there are more than one way to look at this issue. I do not consider my self to be inspiring at all. I think of my self as challenging and if I choose to be quite a difficult pain in the you know what. Having said that the struggle continues. I will continue to use the quotes without the images and the images without the quotes as and when necessary. The visuals are required for some people who do not get an opportunity to speak for themselves about what they would like to see, do or think each day. The state decides that for them. I thank the author for her thoughts on this sensitive matter. My words. PB

Tony Isaacs :

Broomey68 :

04 Jul 2012 11:08:16am

Nice rant there Stella! And a delightful demonstration of the “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” world in which we non-disabled people live. On one hand, you berate us for being inspired by someone with a disability doing normal things and living a normal life because – as you point out – to them their lot is normal. On the other, you tell us how difficult it all is for you operating in a physical environment that does not cater to your requirements! Isn’t that the whole point of “inspiration porn” (which I personally detest by the way) – pointing out that some people have to work harder to do the very things that able-bodied people do without a second thought? And whilst I sympathise with you re your encounter on the train – it does sound very patronising – this brings me to another area which is fraught with danger... approaching a person with a disability with any offer of assistance. I have watched as people in wheelchairs have been approached by strangers in supermarkets, on trains, in a variety of public places – and asked if they need help reaching that milk, navigating the exit, and so on. Often the response is brusque, sometimes outright rude... why is that? Is it somehow impolite to notice that someone is actually... ahem... “wheelchair bound”? Is it then offensive to assume that they may not be able to reach something on a higher shelf without difficulty? Or does the real insult lie in a courteous offer to assist? I very much doubt that inspiration porn shames people with disabilities. But – as with everyone else – sometimes a bad attitude does.

Anne :

Anne-Marie :

05 Jul 2012 1:50:32pm

Hi Broomey, regarding your question about w/c users and offering help, it may be the sheer number of unnecessary offers of assistance that can make a w/c respond brusquely. I am a female w/c user (blonde too :) who goes to the shops once or twice everyday, the number of these interactions can be phenomenal... I am polite 99% of the time, but sometimes it's a bad day, it's happened too many times, it's just too much. I often feel harassed and I'm sure I'm not alone in this regard.

Jason :

05 Jul 2012 2:26:40pm

Yes, you poor, poor thing. Such terrible problems we able-bodied people face, what with people saying we shouldn't objectify the poor, little inspirational disabled folks. I don't know how we ever get by.

FreakyBeaky :

06 Jul 2012 1:29:40am

Speaking as a disabled person, another thing that can make a disabled person respond brusquely to offers of assistance is ... being an asshole. Everyone, disabled or not, is different. Being in a w/c does not make everyone into a nice person. If you offer help and get told to take a hike - don't dwell on it. It was just one more asshole in a world that, actually, does seem to be made just for them (or by people just like them) ...

Sam :

06 Jul 2012 8:59:06pm

Ha - well said. I am reminded of a chat I had with a friend a few years ago. Her sister was dying of cancer, and she was trying to be compassionate. I remember her distinctly saying, "It's so hard to be compassionate, because having cancer doesn't make her any less of the bitch she always was..."

Kim :

Hi Stella, fab article. And here i was being un-inspired by (love the term) 'inspiration porn". My friends saturate my facebook wall with it, except for (ironically?) my friend who has spina bifita. There ya go!

I always thought I was a cold person for not being inspired by people with disabilities living their lives. Now I have a justification for that. Cheers Stella, and you are not an inspiration, but you writing and advocacy sure is ;)

Ray :

04 Jul 2012 9:42:07am

Inspirational literally means in spirit. The lady on the train that saw Stella wasn't saying in her head "look at her, wow my life is great compared to her, I'm inspired." The lady on the train first felt empathy then compassion for Stella. The life within the lady recognised the life within Stella through compassion. Whenever life recognises life, you feel good. That is being in spirit. Unfortunately it doesn't happen a lot in this world. You can imagine that road rage and other mad acts wouldn't happen if it did. Unfortunately (and ironically) it seems for Stella, her disability is barring her from connecting with life at the deepest level. A gift given freely not being recognised? Sounds like a proverb. Woow, did I just say that disability is a gift? I think the ego within some people will find offence in that.

ST :

12 Jul 2012 11:13:36am

That doesn't sound like empathy to me. Empathy is stepping out of yourself and understanding the experience of someone else, not projecting your own issues on them, or making sweeping generalizing statements about individual human beings with individual experiences and needs, like 'disbilities are a gift'.. Empathy is not patronizing.

Deb :

Gary :

04 Jul 2012 8:54:18am

No I dont think it was wrong .. It's more of the overall attitude often displayed by society that by eating a currant bun in a cafe that we are somehow saving the world ....I saw what you saw but fully understand where Stella is coming from.

Lizzie :

03 Jul 2012 10:39:50pm

A couple of points:1. What a shame ppl with disabilities seem to be unsupportive of each other, either by arguing the small points, or trying to outdo each other intellectually. Kindness to each other will unite our cause.2. If I want to find inspiration to help me through my day any way I can, thats my business. But I agree, I do not have the right to share the source of my imspiration with the world - my life could be a lot harder if i were born 100 years ago - and thats my inspiration. Those ppl arent here to complain!3. I do agree with the societal attitudes impacting on the general thinking around the value of life with a disability. i highly value my career, and capacity to work, but I do it with an underlying fear that i am rewarded in that career for having a disability, and not my outcomes/produce. I am lucky to have a largely hidden disability that i can choose to reveal or not, although as soon a i travserse stairs, it becomes obvious!However, there is the age old problem of also not making said disability a big deal - for example, requiring certain conditions in an environment that is largely inaccesible. People think our lives are hard because they hear about how hard it is. I can see how people get mixed messages and as a result, think our lives are hard and we would then be worthy of pity, and on the flip side, inspiration.

To me, the answer is more people in society, contributing, as much or as little as they can. Visibility, not hiding in our houses. Its hard when you get stopped all the time with inspiration type comments, but we can educate them, one perso. at a time.

Melanie D :

03 Jul 2012 10:07:09pm

Hello Stella et al,

I am in the US and a mother of 2 girls. My youngest daughter is 6 and has Spina Bifida as well as some other very rare, serious complications that can go along with it that have caused many life-threatening issues in her short life. I understand your article, but I struggle with it as well.As a mother of a "disabled" child (who is completely normal mentally by the way!), I don't like sticking out in a crowd. It used to make me cry when people would stare at us because my daughter used to have a trach. We have to take her to an out of state children's hospital several times every year and when she was younger, the state she was in was very visible...almost every trip perfect strangers started crying in the airport once they heard her story. Yes, I heard from many how she was an inspiration, and how I was too as a mother for going to such lengths to save her life (and quality of life). Sometimes, I really wanted to just be invisible walking through the airport, like everyone else. I also struggled with her starting kindergarten this year. I wanted her to just be one of the kids, and it turned out she really was accepted in that way. I do, however, continue to struggle with other parents who ask questions or say weird things (like, what an inspiration that she could come to kindergarten with Spina Bifida and after a tracheal reconstruction this year - why couldn't she go to kindergarten?!)...but I also know some of them need explanations/education or just plain don't know what to say!

What I have come to understand is that there is absolutely no way others who have not been touched by illness or disability to truly understand without ever having experienced it. Before my daughter, I was a teacher and had students with disabilities and always thought I was extra compassionate....but, I really had no clue until it happened to me! I think that this is where the problem comes in. "Non-disabled" (I keep putting this in quotes because I think EVERYONE has some kind of disability - what is normal anyhow?) people often don't get it and truly do find it awe inspiring that people who are not like them can do the same things they do. It doesn't mean they can't appreciate that you are successful people just like them...they just find it amazing that you were able to achieve it. And....I have to add that sometimes it is quite amazing. It may be more amazing because of the not so disability friendly environment that disabled people are forced to adapt to, but I think it also has something to do with the disabled person, and their drive and willingness not to let the disability be a disability.When I watched my daughter stand through her entire Mother's Day concert this year, it made me cry. When I watch her work so hard in hours of physical and occupational therapy....even when she is tired after a day of school...it sometimes makes me feel really lazy for not exercising

Michael :

03 Jul 2012 8:00:08pm

I have never been inspired by inspiration porn; up until now I thought it was just cos I'm a cold hearted a-hole, glad to know now that's not the case. I am Stella , however, inspired by your knitting. My nanna tried to teach me countless times, and I could just never get the hang of it!

fan :

Kristy :

03 Jul 2012 7:13:10pm

I agree in one sense with you Stella. I find it extremely annoying when people who don't even know me come up to me in a public place and marvel at the fact I am outside in the sunshine. I find it especially annoying when those people are inebriated and take the time to kiss my hand or pat my head. That is not necessary!!I

On the other hand, becoming an inspiration to someone who has not had experienced disability before is useful. I suppose it is pretentious of me, but I believe that the role of all people living with a disability is to teach others about their disability, in the hope that the person they are teaching will gradually come to see other people with disability as an ordinary person, with ordinary thoughts and feelings and wants and needs. I have learned over the past 10 years that i must broaden my view of disability, and I am willing to work on this... But my intention is still the same to teach through my experience, so that the next time they come into contact with a person with a disability. They will know to treat them with respect and dignity not as an object for inspiration porn!

Emily :

03 Jul 2012 7:03:54pm

Hi Stella!

I've been reading a lot of articles on Ramp Up over the last year and I'd just like to say that you've helped to enlighten me about a bunch of issues regarding disabled people. I'd like to think that I'm becoming a slightly more informed human being. Thank you so much!

Ann :

03 Jul 2012 5:02:59pm

And here I thought I had it all figured out after reading Stella's article. Then I read the comments.

It IS complex. There IS something wrong with glorifying the mundane, regardless of who is being mundane (I get pissed off when see media making celebrities into these incredibly insightful beings who have to obviously experience things more deeply because of their being celebrities).

But then again, a lot of us do have to battle with being able to do the mundane...whether that's because of some physical, mental or emotional difference.

And to do that. To get out of bed, to decide to do the mundane...sometimes it is extraordinary.

Achievements come in all different sizes.

For what it's worth, I took the comment about the only disability being a bad attitude to mean those around the person with disability. Just like it's the environment not the person that determines what is possible and impossible at times. It's our collective attitude that often determines what it means to be 'disabled'.

I cringe at soppy inspiration porn...just as much as I cringe at poor accessibility planning.

Both show a certain paternalistic disregard. Both create barriers to just being able to do the mundane.

paul :

Ricp :

03 Jul 2012 4:41:42pm

You are an inspiration to me... I being an able-bodied person sitting down on a crowded train reading this on my Ipad surrounded by pregnant women, the elderly and a lady leaning on her mobility aid! I never realised disabled people could actually use the train. Near my station, there is a homeless-looking blind guy with Aviator Ray Ban sun glasses, a cattle dog-dingo cross guide dog tethered on rope sleeping on a pile of newspapers and a hand written sign that says "Help me I am blind" . So I am going to give him 5 cents in that empty peanut butter jar every time I go past. So I am now really committed now to helping people with disabilities. Yeah... I really understand what you saying.PS: Just thinking... do you reckon the man or the dog is blind? Not sure.

Tricia Malowney :

03 Jul 2012 2:34:04pm

I am who I am because I have a disability not despite it. I am happy to be who I am, and happy with what I am doing with my life. I have the same desires as the rest of the community, and the same rights and responsibilities. I dance, I laugh, I sing, I love, I work. Does it sound different to what other Australians do If you have a problem with me choosing to live my normality - stiff!

kittyfox :

Jarrod :

Sam I Am :

03 Jul 2012 12:32:48pm

I agree about the topic of 'inspiration porn' - the portrayal of people with disability as 'the pit or the pedestal' is well known in media - but then there are the thirty percent. I'll get to that. Stella is a self proclaimed proud crip. She embraces her disability and her difference in a completely rock star way, showing the world that she is a completely ordinary and very funky young woman with a quick wit, a good sense of style and a tragic penchant for knitting. I know many knitters and I don't care about clothes, so she doesn't actually inspire me in that way. I admire her for her talent as a writer and a comedian and her quick turn of phrase. What I don't agree with is that Stella's opinion piece doesn't encompass the thirty percent. That's the percentage of people with disability I know who do NOT embrace their disability. If you're a young man with Duchennes, you live with the certain knowledge that your life expectancy will be less than half of your peers. It IS a battle getting over the sure knowledge that you will have to relentlessly pursue quality, rather than quantity of life. Hard to embrace your disability when you're looking down a barrel. It would be easier to stay in bed and watch Foxtel all day. Ask anyone with motor neurone disease - embrace THAT. Ditto people with invisible disability. People with FM and CFS who have to make difficult and painful decisions every day just to get up in the morning about how much energy to conserve and what to do and what not to do. I can look at those people, now that I have significant pain in my life, and think - man, how do you do that? Every time I see a certain woman with painted nails, brushed hair, wearing a brightly patterned frock and a smile on her face that belies the pain I know she is in, I think about her courage. That is inspiring to me, and it often gets me through the day. Because if she can get up in the morning with that passion and conviction and style, why can't I?It takes courage for a person with severe epilepsy to work and live and do ordinary things. Ask anyone who has woken up on public transport, pants wet and lips bitten, gazing into the (hated) pitying and concerned gaze of a stranger. And this is the danger of we advocates speaking for *all* others with disability. As Stella points out, things are complex. There are some factual inaccuracies in the article around amputees, which is to be expected, because nobody can see in on the inside of other people's lives. Some people inspire others for some reasons, some for others. Everyone has the right to inspire, or be inspired, by who they like. I agree with Quentin - its us and us, not them and us. And if I had to choose between people with disability being portrayed in a way that was the 'pit' or the 'pedestal' - I'd choose the pedestal, every time.

LindaMadHatter :

03 Jul 2012 4:06:38pm

"Ditto people with invisible disability. People with FM and CFS who have to make difficult and painful decisions every day just to get up in the morning about how much energy to conserve and what to do and what not to do. I can look at those people, now that I have significant pain in my life, and think - man, how do you do that? Every time I see a certain woman with painted nails, brushed hair, wearing a brightly patterned frock and a smile on her face that belies the pain I know she is in, I think about her courage. That is inspiring to me, and it often gets me through the day. Because if she can get up in the morning with that passion and conviction and style, why can't I?"

I'm too tired for much today, but I read this and wanted to cry. We don't know each other, but I can't go past it without at least saying "thank you". Thank you. I hope she reads this too :)

flaps :

Angela Snow :

03 Jul 2012 10:48:29am

Very thought-provoking, Stella. I became a quadruple amputee at the age of 43, following an infection. All I wanted to do was get back to living as normal a life as possible – being a wife, and looking after my two kids, driving a car and going back to work. I became overwhelmed by people thinking that I was an ‘inspiration’. I have come to believe that it’s often a case of ‘thank god I’m not her, I couldn’t possibly cope’. However, you never know what you can cope with until you’re in that situation.

‘Bad attitudes’ were (and still are) clearly in evidence. The physical environment is a constant challenge, and it becomes exhausting fighting for access to buildings and services. It’s not unusual for people to come up to me and demand ‘what happened to you?’, as if they have some kind of right to know. They don’t.

I sometimes use an electric wheelchair, and I am constantly struck by the difference in the way people speak to me when I’m in my chair, compared to when I’m walking. Complete strangers ‘patting’ me, and saying how wonderful it is that I get out and about – not to mention the patronising tone of voice, and sickly smiles!

Whatever doesn’t kill me, doesn’t necessarily make me stronger – it just really pi**es me off! If I inspire anybody, fine. But don’t just sit there basking in your warm glow, get off your bum and lobby for changes to access to buildings, changes like the National Disability Insurance Scheme, changes to patronising attitudes, changes to access to education so everyone can benefit. Maybe then ‘inspiration porn’ will become obsolete, as it deserves to.Angela

Sad :

Sorry. This just smacks of bitterness to me. I'm not allowed to be inspired by someone that's disabled because they face greater adversity than me and yet still have managed to achieve so much more?

And physical disability isn't the only thing that inspires me. Adversity in life situation can be just as disabling and yet the things some people achieve can just blow me out of the water. If someone doing far better than me isn't allowed to inspire me, then where am I supposed to get my inspiration from?

Ordinary people doing ordinary things? Are YOU inspired by a 20 year old guy working behind a counter at JB HI FI who's just there to pay his rent? Do YOU smile when you see a 40 year old woman who's just simply walking down the street?Not likely. Because they aren't people achieving. They're just doing stuff.

So if I want to be inspired by a man on hooks who can run faster than someone 20 years his junior who is completely able bodied and hasn't had his legs blown off by an IED I damn well will. I think he deserves it.

ra :

03 Jul 2012 7:32:43am

The thing is? Those people ARE just doing stuff. Apparently when you look at a disabled person doing something interesting, you don't just see a person doing something interesting. You are transposing all of your assumptions about what it must mean to be that disabled person, all the supposed adversity they face, onto someone who never asked your opinion about their body, let alone your sense of inspiration.

Jane :

03 Jul 2012 8:08:52am

"Ordinary people doing ordinary things" - that is the author's whole point -- just because someone uses a wheelchair does NOT mean that they are doing anything out of the ordinary. When someone in a wheelchair is waiting in line, seated, should they be inspired by those standing around them -- because standing is so much harder than sitting? Being inspired by someone with a disability, as you so are, is condescending. You are seeing these individuals only as their disability and making the assumption that life must be one huge struggle for them. Instead, you should listen to what people have to say.

m :

03 Jul 2012 10:31:40am

I'm a Gen X person with disability. I was a competitive swimmer as a teenager. My times would have (at the time) got me to the Paralympics, but I had no idea that disability sport was a thing. I dropped out because I thought I was no good. 25 years on, I've gone back to training, aiming for the Paratriathlon World Championships (and the S7 classification 800m freestyle Australian record - it's pretty achievable). Is it wrong that it's other para-athletes - and older athletes achieving at high levels - who I look to? How is that different from non-disabled junior athletes looking to eg Olympians in their events? Am I supposed to *not* look up to/be inspired by the athletes who are most like me? (for what it's worth, I find 40-something elite swimmers at least as inspiring as para-athletes. And when the current TRI3 female Paratriathlon World Champion was promoted as 'inspirational' - no mention of her thoroughly intimidating sub-20min 5k run split - I actually complained to the sponsor concerned).

Quentin :

Linda H. :

04 Jul 2012 12:47:04pm

Hi SAD

I'm just wondering how your hypothetical men and women who "aren't achieving - they're just doing stuff" would feel about you writing off their lives. If this is how you view your fellow man and woman, no wonder you are yearning for inspiration and expecting the world to provide it to you ("where am I supposed to get my inspiration?"...*lol*)

When one can look around and see that all people are pushing through, in spite of their individual, daily adversities, one is more inspired. (dis)Ability ceases to be part of the equation.

This whole thing that - "you're lucky you've got your legs, therefore think positive" - it is probably useful for personal development at the teenage level. Most more mature (and world-weary!) individuals require something a bit deeper. The critical insight and un-skewed perspective of this article is just the tonic, in fact.

radical accessible communities :

03 Jul 2012 5:57:13am

i wrote something very similar, albeit harsher lol, back in February. It's one thing to challenge each other, it's something else to be used as some kind of disembodied tool (within the contexts of societies which don't value disabled folks across the board) to "inspire".

LindaMadHatter :

02 Jul 2012 11:30:39pm

Well, unlike Quentin there, I'm not afraid to call you inspirational Stella. Not because you decided to live your life (how awesome of you lol), but because you've got the balls to call it how you see it, even though you know you're going to get some backlash for it.

Thanks for writing this. Those bloody quotes have been pissing me off no end. ;-)

Linda. Who is sick and tired of being told that she can get over living like she's been hit by a truck every single day if she just tries hard enough, or wants it bad enough, by people who cry when they stub their toe.

Gary :

Mercurius Goldstein :

02 Jul 2012 11:04:02pm

Thanks, Stella.

We live in an ableist society. It deforms our thinking, including my own. The first step for most is getting them to think about 'people with disabilities' instead of 'disabled people'. But even that is a stretch for many.

The most apposite point in your article is pointing out how much of "your" disability is actually exogenous -- the product of the external environment, not instrinsic to you. A lot of "disability" disappears if people would just put a little extra thought into how they design work, transport and domestic settings.

Quentin :

02 Jul 2012 7:36:05pm

I think this article is silly. I see nothing wrong with Disabled people inspiring others. I don't see anything wrong with anyone finding inspiration in something or someone as long as it makes that person want to do better in life. No one should ever be hounded, bullied or shunned for being inspired nor finding inspiration in something or someone.

And what the heck is Non-disabled? Don't you mean Disabled People and well... people? Another bullshit label designed to segregate us?

I've called you inspirational Stella and you threw it back in my face. Oh and to all you others calling Stella that beware less you face her wrath as I did.

Miller :

03 Jul 2012 1:26:25am

Her point is that it sucks that to the world at large (to the non-disabled population), disabled people seem to serve only as a way to make everyone else feel good. They're not seen as complex multifaceted people with career ambitions, family lives, annoyances, hobbies, etc., but only as their disability. It trivializes them. Think about it this way: how would you feel if people used your photo and basically said something along the lines of "Aren't you glad you don't have it as bad as Quentin? You should be so glad you're not him." There's more to her point, as well, but hopefully this helps.

The Body Is Not An Apology :

03 Jul 2012 2:33:16am

Do you see how disrespectful it is to complete negate her feelings? She as a person in living her body, just told you what these statements feel like to her and you just told her she has no right to feel that way. Why is your opinion about her disability more important of valid than her lived experience?

Seriously... :

Liz :

03 Jul 2012 7:18:13am

Your jealousy is palpable.

It's very clear that you don't like Stella because she challenges what you've been taught to think about yourself. I think the part of this article about her parents is very telling. Some people grow up thinking the world owes them something just because they're disabled, she obviously hasn't.

I actually don't always agree with Stella, but I really like her willingness to challenge people even though she knows it'll make some of us uncomfortable. None of us should be allowed to sit with our prejudice unchallenged. Not even you.

Gary :

03 Jul 2012 3:02:25pm

It certainly isnt a silly article Quentil. Challenging, yes. Thought provoking, yes. Radical, a smigdin. Relevant, yes. Noone should ever be put down for stating what they feel. Good on you Stella for having the tenacity to challenge peoples thinking even if they will not always agree with you.

Quentin :

03 Jul 2012 3:56:07pm

I'm not jealous of Stella in the slightest. My problem is that her opinion mocks those who have no issue with their disability inspiring anyone. Stella is indeed allowed to have any opinion she wants. However, she runs and edits Ramp Up and uses this platform to vent her personal grips unchecked by anyone. Being told that one isn't comfortable being inspiring is one thing. Advising others to do the same is dangerous when as an editor she needs to be careful how those opinions will be taken in.

Stella is the only person allowed to blog on Ramp Up. There are no other blogging contributors, aside from the odd article. I just want her to think about how she uses that power.

Quentin :

Stella Young :

03 Jul 2012 4:28:24pm

Hi Quentin,

Just thought it was worth clarifying the way Ramp Up works, as you seem to be confused about the blog on the site is written solely by me.

We commission work and we accept submissions. These are published as Opinion or Features, depending on what category they fit into. News and Audio content is aggregated from across the ABC. The blog, as with all of the aggregation portals (Environment, Tech & Games and Religion & Ethics), is written by the editor of the site.

If you have an op ed that you'd like to submit to the site, either a rebuttal to my piece or on another topic entirely, don't hesitate to get in touch. It is our aim to publish a broad spectrum of voices.

Simmo :

11 Jul 2012 1:33:25pm

I am not at all surprised by Quentin's reaction to this. He's been ranting on twitter for the last week about this stuff. I expect it's because he was set up by the media and his parents to be "inspirational" for doing very little as a child. Being congratulated for existing is all he has, and Stella's analysis is a threat to that.

I did have to laugh watching a twitter conversation between Quentin and Stella in which Quentin said he'd been "fighting for the rights of the disabled for years". I highly doubt it. He doesn't even seem to comprehend basic language use. I think he should probably do us all a favour and turn his energy to some thing else. Stella's well read and well informed about disability rights. Quentin isn't going to win that argument, but I am enjoying watching him try.

smauge :

02 Jul 2012 7:19:24pm

As a mum to two autistic children, I get this line often - "I don't know how you do it. You deserve a medal"Firstly, they're my children; I'm not sure what they think the alternative is. Secondly, we don't know anything else, just as parents of "non-special" children don't know anything other than their role.When you bring a child into this world you make the commitment to parent that child. It's not brave or inspirational. It's just parenting.I hesitate to call your article "inspirational" LOL! But it is.

Forth :

02 Jul 2012 6:58:49pm

I'm in a different situation, but the concept is similar. A few years ago I worked out that I'm transgender. Once you work that out there's no putting the genie back in the bottle so I started the process of transitioning. I'm forever being told how brave I am. No, actually, I chose the least scary option and living my life is just this thing I do. I don't see trans people being used in inspiration porn. I believe there's plenty of regular porn around featuring transpeople though so the marginalised get fetishised into the bargain one way or the other. Now I'm wondering if people with prostheses are forever fielding intrusive questions about them. "I'm just trying to show interest."

Sue :

02 Jul 2012 4:52:32pm

Wow. I love this post so much.

It's like when people go on about people who have cancer. "They're so brave," they say. Well, WTF else are you going to do? It just looks brave to you because you're scared shitless that you're going to get cancer. And then if you do, you'll do what you need to do and then other people will say how brave you are.

brett caton :

02 Jul 2012 4:44:58pm

Firstly, you are a woman of taste, obviously (Buffy!).

Secondly, the counter point is that in your case, despite all the crappy things life has thrown at you, you succeeded.

You didn't choose just to survive on disability (which i am informed is theoretically possible) but chose to thrive despite the staircases and the patronising people and the possibility your wheelchair will get stuck somewhere horrible.

You are doing better than a lot of people, who end up drunk or drugged or in endless therapy sessions being told they really should be happy (and should feel guilty if they aren't).

In short, *you* are someone to look up to.

But I get your point. Whenever I hear the homily "I was angry that I had no shoes until i saw a guy who had no feet", it doesn't make me feel all warm inside.

It makes me feel mad that that guy has no bloody shoes, and that people are told their feelings are invalid if they complain, and that the government gets away with freakin' hacking people's limbs off whenever a corporation tells them to...

Maddy :

Sharon Wachsler :

02 Jul 2012 3:50:22pm

"But if Hamilton is to be believed, I should just be able to smile at an inaccessible entrance to a building long enough and it will magically turn into a ramp. I can make accessible toilets appear where none existed before, simply by radiating a positive attitude."

Actually, I think the point of such sayings like Hamilton's is that if you cannot get up that flight of stairs, you should just smile and go to another building and another and another (smiling all the while) until you can finally get in one, and then *that* will be the building you should have entered all along, and because you had to suffer and work to get into that building, it is the *right* building, and you have built character and become a better person by toughing it out. See? Inspirational!

Likewise, if you need to pee and the toilets aren't accessible, you should just hold it, and be positive that if you try another building, and another, and another, or hell, you just hold it till you get home nine hours later, that that shows real courage and determination! You didn't let that disabled toilet beat you! You mastered your bladder! Courage!

Seriously, that seems to be where people go when you confront them with the reality of institutionalized ableism. They will go to any lengths they can to still make it be about you/us, and not about the barriers -- environmental or attitudinal -- that block us.

Louise :

Shaun Wilson :

kaite matilda :

02 Jul 2012 3:20:48pm

Well said. My brother had CF, he sometimes had good days, other times he had bad days, most days were just normal for him. He didn't like being thought of as an inspiration either, he just got on with his life and tried not to be "specialled out". I miss him tho, he was special to me.

nico :

Gary :

02 Jul 2012 2:47:10pm

You are an inspiration to me Stella. ;-D For having the gumption to write this knowing full well there are many that will label you a kill joy.

By and large I agree with your sentiments. Being deaf I am forever cringing at photos of new born babies with joyful smiles as their Cochlear Implants are switched on for the first time ... MIRACLE CURE is usually the headline that acompanies such photos. Cringingly puke worthy, not the least because they are misleading to the extreme.

BUT there is a little nagging voice in my head that says we disabled people can go to the other extreme. While the setimental "Inspiration Porn" is one extreme .. Our complete unbridled rejection of it is another. The middle ground somewhere, whereever that is, is what I seek.

Now a few weeks a go I watched an amputee with the same prosthetics compete against 'able-bodied' athletes.( I hate the term too) He ran last, but not by a lot. I have to say I was inspired, not so much by the fact that he was running, running amputees are everyday happenings, but rather I was inspired by the fact that technology had gotten to the point where the playing field was evening out ... We have gone from Long Jon Silver and his wooden peg to THIS. Yeah, sorry, I was inspired :-D

This is the danger, I think, where we reject everything in the Inspiration Porn, when sometimes there are things that are just naturally awe inspiring, depends what parts you are inspired by I guess. For me its the technology rather than the people using it. I hope I am making sense.

At the same time I am conscious that we dont want to go about saying to every amputee, "wow your legs are awesome", and forget the person. Though I am sure there are many that would die to have someone say their legs were awesome. Perhaps this is the middle ground I am seeking.

Finally I think you were a wee bit harsh on poor Scotty and his quote. There are two ways to interpret this quote ... One as you did, "" puts the responsibility for our oppression squarely at the feet, prosthetic or otherwise, of people with disabilities. It's victim blaming. It says that we have complete control of the way disability impacts our lives." OR you can apply the quote to the significant others in higher decision making positions (policy makers and Governments) who forever say "cant", " too expensive", "not feasible" etc etc ... Those that for ever look for barriers to progress rather than solutions ... "the attitude" is the "disability" ... But then and again just using the word disability in the context implies disability is a bad thing which, of course, it aint - But it can be -- The shades of grey in this one are many.

Yep I agree with you, but there is a nagging doubt somewhere that I cant quite put my finger on.

Sam :

02 Jul 2012 8:52:09pm

Great comment. I read the article nodding my head, but with a nagging dread – was I one of THOSE people? Have I ever been inspired by “Inspiration Porn”? Am I to blame?

I like the idea of a middle ground, but I think the pursuit of said middle ground is a never-ending battle. It is the plight of the white, middle-class, English-speaking (and yes, ‘able-bodied’) society – a guilt that we are never really doing the right thing. Are we being feminist, or sexist? Are we being culturally sensitive, or racist? Are we being inclusive, or prejudiced?

Yes, I have probably been inspired before by people doing ordinary things. Most recently, I was inspired (or at least touched) by a friend’s strength in coping with the death of her brother. Death is surely the most ordinary, everyday thing, and people must cope with the death of loved ones all the time. Nevertheless, I felt something like inspiration. Does this make me a horrible person?

It is a fine line that we must walk – to overlook all differences, to be inclusive of all people, yet not to go too far in the other direction. Maybe inspiration is not quite the right word, but I am sometimes overwhelmed when I think of the challenges some people must face in life (environmental, as so rightly pointed out, or otherwise). I am reminded of a day about 10 years ago, when I had to babysit a friend’s Rottweiler for the day. The dog was old and arthritic, and going blind with cataracts. I took her for a walk around the block – because that was about all she could manage – and was struck by the fact that other pedestrians were actually crossing the street to avoid us. They saw a big dog with a bad reputation, and assumed the worst. I was furious. I wanted to shout out, “She won’t hurt you! She can hardly walk!” And then I had two thoughts almost simultaneously: “Thank god this isn’t my dog, and I don’t have to deal with this all the time” and “This is probably what it feels like to be a black man walking down the street.” I wasn’t sure how to feel then. Guilty, because I was glad it wasn’t me? Empathy? Anger? Inspiration? This confusion about how I should feel is probably why I still remember this very ordinary event today.

A colleague once challenged me to do a wheelie in his spare wheelchair, and I promptly flipped myself onto my back. I asked how long that took to learn, and he explained that he had learned it when he first got into a wheelchair. He said it was necessary to get up or down steps, because usually – like in shop doorways - there is no other option. This amazed me, because it is one of the many challenges that had never even occurred to me. I may have even have been a wee bit inspired – sometimes I just can’t help it. Sometimes someone else’s completely ordinary life is inspiring to me.

Gary :

Naomi :

06 Jul 2012 10:39:52pm

There is a difference In both your examples Sam. You knew the people and you knew something of their lives and were inspired by something they did. That is entirely different to a photo. And being inspired by the sheer fact of someone's existence.

Diva Ex :

02 Jul 2012 2:25:52pm

Everyday I struggle with my failure, both to myself and others, to complete the most minimal tasks.

Until my body conspired otherwise, I had always taken care of myself - worked 40 hour weeks, and done every task from fixing my own vehicles to raising my own food. Truthfully, for me, the hardest part of being disabled is daily staring into that yawning divide that society places between people who work hard to contribute to the economy and the maintenance of their families, and people who are a drain on other people's resources. The former are good people, and the latter parasites. And this demonization is only getting worse and worse.

Working harder, for me, means setting myself back. There is no logic for this in our culture. Effort, we're schooled, at least eventually, is rewarded. Whereas for me, physical exertion during the day means being in so much pain I can't sleep at night, and am therefore even more useless the following day. How inspiring is that?

In the natural world, showing weakness gets you eaten, or, at the very least, demoted in the pack structure. We still have that instinct - that fear - of being seen as vulnerable. So, if you ask me how I am, I'll answer "fine". I look sturdy, so why shouldn't I be? I'm mobile, and educated - I should be able to "rise above", as others have.

What I really want is to be unburdened of these expectations. To do what I can without that never being "good enough", and because of that never being 'worthwhile". As far as I can tell, the best way to get that out of my head is for other people to be less judgmental. Because even judging people as "good", "heroic", inspiring", etc. automatically sets someone else up as the opposite. I'm not visa vie anyone. I'm just me - and maybe I could really believe that if I got just a little more help in challenging our cultures' hierarchies of being.

My humanity is equal to your humanity, is equal to everyone's humanity. That's really all we need to know about ourselves and each other. The rest only sets us against each other.

Amber :

Marija Lemic :

02 Jul 2012 2:11:27pm

Hi Stella,

I understand where you are coming from. And yes, I have a physical and mental disability.

I have seen the quote "the only disability is a bad attitude". I have interpret this in another way. People with no disabilities with a bad attitude towards people with disabilities do actually have a disability. Their disability is actually stupidity, arrogance and single mindedness.

Stella, keep up the great work, people like us can only help educate those that still believe that people with disabilities can not be independent, capable and an important member of society.

Scal :

02 Jul 2012 1:58:28pm

This is great, thanks for an interesting and enagaging piece.

You've perfect;y artiulated what was bothering me about the "He's deaf, not defeated" poster, depicting a small child. The first time I saw it. I thought "Who would think he's defeated?". The posters seek to subvert assumed prejudices, but I think their assumptions are wrong.

Amie :

02 Jul 2012 1:53:20pm

"I should just be able to smile at an inaccessible entrance to a building long enough and it will magically turn into a ramp. I can make accessible toilets appear where none existed before, simply by radiating a positive attitude. I can simply turn that frown upside down in the face of a flight of stairs with no lift in sight."

Just great writing! I hope ABC appreciate the gem they have in you, Stella

Clementine Ford :

02 Jul 2012 1:52:05pm

Brilliant piece Stella. It also positions the disabled as little more than props and foils for able-bodied people to better themselves. None of it is about improving the lives of the disabled - only about challenging the non-disabled to live up to their potential (which is apparently greater than that of their disabled peers).

Josie :

amelia :

02 Jul 2012 1:41:13pm

Hi, stella I have been reading and listening to your stuff for only a little while and really enjoy the challenges to my thinking you produce. I am uncomfortable talking about differences. I'd love to say I wasn't but i know that would be untruthful. The other day I read a blog (now excuse me for not remembering her name I had very little sleep last night maybe carly?) Where the writer eloquantly and confrontedly described her pain having a proceedure to remove a hair from her nail (doesn't help that nails and eyes I'm particulary squeemish about) now when I rblogged it as a story that put my tired day in perspective and a piece of good blogging. Is that me 'objectifying' another's story? Or did she make it an object via a 'blog, or, am I overthinking... Seems the tireder I get the worse I think. Anyway really liked your blog and I've always found those posters grosse and cheap not because of the ways you articulated. (Ihadn't thought of those points) but because I found they where in the same vein as dangling or drowned kitten inspiration poster and were thus grossely insulting. Anyway cheers: I'm gonna keep reading your work with its keen observations and stella wit (all puns intended) and try n get more sleep

Michelle :

Doosh :

03 Jul 2012 2:12:32pm

I'm pretty sure I heard the author on ABC666 radio a few days ago where she has some kind of regular spot.

She was talking about this subject and how much she hated people getting any inspiration from her, or more specifically, her disability. It sounded like she was uncomfortable with them getting a positive response from something which to her, has only provided her with pain and problems.

She just wanted to be treated in a manner which was neutral to her disability. When people treat her differently because of this disability, whether that treatment is bad OR good, it seemed to trigger a nasty response from her. Something I completely agree with.

However, as I was listening to all this, a smell of hypocrisy wafted by.

Her very reason she was on the radio, and probably the very reason this ABC blog site exists for her, is because she has a disability. There would be little to no chance she would have these media opportunities if she was not disabled.

So here we have a person talking about how much that hated being treated differently, yet at the same time, enjoying the benefits those differences have given her.

You cant have it both ways.

If you don't want non-disabled people to be inspired by your disabilities, then how can you accept non-disabled people rewarding you for those same disabilities ?

Amelia :

03 Jul 2012 6:22:14pm

Disagree! Stella has a great voice, an economic writing style, a keen wit and a well devalopped sense of social justice what ever "lot" Stella's brain could hypothetically be born into i'm dead cert those skills and attributes would still be put into good use.

doosh :

03 Jul 2012 11:38:20pm

Then she should put those communication skills to good use in areas unrelated to discussing disabilities.

Perhaps then others would focus less on her disabilities, and more on her true qualities. Then when others are inspired by her, they will be inspired by what she has achieved in her life, rather than by what her disabilities have taken away from her life.

Perhaps that is the inspiration she, and all of us, should be striving for.

Stella :

04 Jul 2012 10:31:23am

I think many people here make very valid points, I do also agree with the comments Doosh made. I am an abled bodied person so I personally do not understand the life of living with a physical disability. I do however understand feelings of the heart and compassion. I have been guilty of feeling warm towards a beautiful soul sitting in a wheelchair or an old man slowly making his way up the street, or a mum with a child throwing a tantrum on the floor and the list goes on. Do I pitty any of them? No! I just feel from the heart for each of them. If I give them a warm smile of appreciation for who they are, am I to be punished for doing the wrong thing? I hope not and when someone sends a smile my way for whatever reason prompts it, I hope that I will always be glad that they noticed me.

Amelia :

05 Jul 2012 10:51:47am

Lets turn all those examples into inspiration posters (see no KITTENS!) cause lets face it we are inspired by others who face the adversity in their life. WE are communal creatures and we look to each other for strength. Nothing inspires me more then seeing a ma with bags under her eyes and kids on her ankles. I think shit if she can do it so can I.... but to single out one section of our community to be the inspiration for us all.... anyway the debate goes on but please someone make the tired mum posters sans cats and i'll whack it up in my loo.....

Brenton :

Naomi :

06 Jul 2012 10:45:47pm

So Doosh, if this were a different topic, say, fishing, and Stella was editing a site on fishing, and talking about fishing in the media, and made her own observations on fishing, that would be ok? Your only concern is that she is writing on disability, and happens to have a disability? The article is not about having a disability, it is about one picture of a person with a disability being used to imply a whole lot of things about disability.

Doosh :

07 Jul 2012 10:11:54am

Well thats my point.

If Stella, with her disabilty, had that fishing site which inspired others to fish and derive happiness from that, then great. Thats the kind of inspiration I am talking about. One that is not tied to her disability.

She does not want others to see her as a person moulded from her disabilities. Those injuries have tried to control who she is all her life, and she she wants to break free from those controls. She just wants to be treated like anyone else - treatment free from disabilities. Something which I said I agreed with.

My point was that her media involvment with disability will not help free her. They will only strengthen those chains.

Stella Young :

07 Jul 2012 12:22:56pm

Hi Doosh,

I thought I'd chime in and respond to some of your concerns about my work and my views on disability.

I was not saying, on 666 Canberra or anywhere else, that I want people to ignore my disability. I identify as a proud disabled woman, and see disability as integral to my life and my work. The frustration I was expressing in this piece is about people being "inspired" by the mere existence of disabled people, rather than our work.

I am more than happy to inspire people by the work I do - particularly if it involves speaking up against ableism. I'm happy for people who know me well to be inspired by me in whatever way they like - be it my cooking or my mad skills at Words With Friends. What I'm NOT happy with is for a stranger to look at someone with a disability and make a value judgement about the quality of that person's life based purely on the way they look.

I am more than happy for people to see me as someone "moulded by" disability. It has moulded me every bit as much, if not more so, than my gender, ethnicity or sexuality. I am shaped by all parts of my life experience.

I really want to address your point that "It sounded like she was uncomfortable with them getting a positive response from something which to her, has only provided her with pain and problems."

While my disability might have involved "pain and problems" at different times in my life, of course, it has also provided me with a rich experience that has added a great deal to my life. Given the choice, I wouldn't choose to be non-disabled. Disability is a part of me, and I'm very proud of who I've become and who I'll continue to be.

I've written about some aspects of disability pride here http://www.abc.net.au/rampup/articles/2010/12/08/3088258.htm if you need any further clarification around that.

Finally, I'd like to address your point that my "media involvement with disability will not help free her." I emphatically disagree. I have no desire to be "freed" from my disability. What I would like a bit more freedom from is the ableist attitudes that are so rife in society, such as those I've written about here.

So I'll stick at it if that's alright with you, because it's provoking great conversations like this one.

eaglerock :

15 Jul 2012 8:12:22am

It seems to me that we're misinterpreting our thoughts because of the words we choose. Inspire and aspire are loaded words for sure. When able people talk of being inspired I think its more about giving them perspective. Since Stella you aren't totally able you would not have experienced the sense of failure that some of us experience simply because we are totally abled. We see others who have to contend with extra problems we don't have and, well I do anyway, wonder have in the hell they get on with their lives when I'm feeling depressed about my own situation and I don't have a, b, or c disability. And you are doing something a little bit more than the average person when you live with a disability. Getting up every morning seems difficult for the most of us but add some kind of extra situation and the pressure mounts. This is also true of people caring for people with disabilities. How many times do you hear parents moan about their kids-how much more difficult is it when your child has to deal with extra stuff! Although I had to reach for the vomit bucket when a mother said, after being told that her disabled son was lucky to have her-oh no, I'm not here for him; he's here for me-so your son's disability is simply for your own journey-good for him. I can't stand the notion that everything happens for a reason; no, bad things happen and if we can derive a positive outcome, good for us.

StBob :

20 Jul 2012 6:29:07pm

Doosh - you are missing the point. Would I prefer to not have my disability and get back to the life and activities I used to enjoy? Absolutely! Would I give up the experience of being disabled and the insight it has given me? Never! For me it would involve going back to a life I already know was full and my interests (and my image of myself) are informed by that earlier life. As is my view of myself since I acquired a disability. Either way I can lead a full and happy life as long as people don't put unnecessary obstacles in my way.

For people who have always known disability I am doubt it is the same thing. You are suggesting they would like to become a "better" version of themselves. A self that has never existed. To suggest there is a better version of 'Stella Young' that would be achieved by a "cure" is offensive. The one we've got is pretty, effing awesome. To be sure, there is a better version of all us out there somewhere we can all achieve but I don't think a cure for what ails us has anything to do with it.

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